BENGALURU, Sept 29 (Reuters) – Indian private equity firm True North said on Friday it will sell about 20% of its stake in Niva Bupa Insurance to its UK-based partner Bupa for about 27 billion rupees ( 325 million dollars).
The sale will increase Bupa’s stake in Niva Bupa to approximately 63%, making it the majority shareholder in the business.
The announcement comes after media reports said earlier this year that the company was considering selling a minority stake at a valuation of $2 billion.
Niva Bupa, a joint venture between the British United Provident Association (Bupa) and True North of India, offers health insurance through more than 20 partner banks and has more than 10,000 hospitals as part of its network.
True North will continue as a minority joint venture partner, but it was not immediately clear how much of a stake it will have in the business after the sale.
“The time is right for Bupa to acquire a majority stake in the business to propel Niva Bupa into its next stage of growth… (which) could also include the public listing of the business,” True North said in a statement.
Kotak Investment Banking is the exclusive financial advisor to True North and Niva Bupa, while Rothschild & Co is the exclusive advisor to Bupa on the transaction, the statement added.
True North became the majority owner of Niva Bupa in 2019, after Max India sold 51% of its stake in the then-named Max Bupa Health Insurance to the fund for an enterprise value of Rs 10.01 billion.
(1 dollar = 83.0727 Indian rupees)
Reporting by Hritam Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Edited by Varun H.K.
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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